Five upcycled hotels in planes, silos and shipping containers

The trend for upcycled accommodation has given rise to the imaginative conversion of everything from Boeing planes and water pipes to old grain silos and shipping containers being turned into places to spend the night. Here are five that are available on Glamping Hub…

This converted 1950s grain silo is located on a farm in north-eastern Vermilion County, Illinois. Refurbished as a guest retreat with one bedroom and one bathroom with a large clawfoot tub, the farm it sits on is still in business and they grow soybeans, corn and wheat.

The interiors of these shipping containers have been clad in lumber reclaimed from a distillery in Kentucky. The windows were salvaged from a school in Philadelphia, the kitchen cabinet bases from a laboratory in Brooklyn and the countertops from old bowling alley floors in Texas.

About 45 minutes south of Mexico City, guests can stay in 17 private pods that take the form of upcycled concrete water pipes that have been sliced into sections. The site also has an infinity pool and wifi.

This upcycled vintage 1965 Boeing 727 plane, which used to fly for South Africa Air and Avianca Airlines, has two bedrooms with proper double beds and a treehouse in the jungle canopy. Inside, the fuselage is clad in wood.

This unit is surrounded by gardens and overlooks the Loxahatchee River in Florida. It has four bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and an outdoor patio. Guests staying here will also receive a free, two-hour, guided kayak tour.

As Design Boom says: “Few structures have seen such versatile upcycling as the shipping container. Originally designed to safely carry goods around the globe, the container’s durable, cube-like shape has attracted architects to continuously come up with new, innovative uses, ranging from demountable football stadiums, to floating student housing and starburst-shaped residences. Being easy to transport and adapt into any kind of environment, containers have proven particularly successful when transformed into various types of accommodation, from hotels to hostels, or single-room retreats.”

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